


38 Days Since Case One

by AnExhaustedArmadillo



Series: Case One [9]
Category: Band of Brothers
Genre: Alternate Universe - Zombie Apocalypse, F/M, Survival, Suspense, Zombie Apocalypse, there be twists
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-03 19:40:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20458388
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AnExhaustedArmadillo/pseuds/AnExhaustedArmadillo
Summary: Bill and Frannie might just make it.





	38 Days Since Case One

“Frannie, you have to run!” Bill shouted, waving his bat at a walker and taking its head off with one messy swing.

“Not without you!” Frannie shouted back, using her knife to stab another walker in the side of the head.

The two of them were backed into a wall, literally. It was supposed to be a routine scavenging trip. They’d thought the superstore was empty. They hadn’t known about the horde until it was too late. Half of the walkers they’d encountered were still in their employee uniforms, a fact that Bill would’ve been disturbed by if he’d had the ability to feel anything other than adrenaline. They’d managed to kill about half a dozen walkers, but there were surrounded by almost thirty more, spread out among the store’s aisles.

“There isn’t time to argue,” Bill said, turning to his wife, shaking his head because he knew there was only one way this could end. “You have to go.”

“I’m not leaving you,” Frannie insisted, tears threatening to spill out of her eyes. “Bill, I’m _not_ leaving you.”

“But-”

“Even if I was,” Frannie cut him off. “Where would I go? We’re sur-” Frannie was cut off with a growl when a walker suddenly lunged into her. She stumbled backwards. She couldn’t fight from a distance with just her knife and the walker was on her without a struggle. She held it at bay with her hands, which were slipping at the walker’s chest.

“No!” Bill screamed, pulling the walker off of her with his hands and shoving it onto the floor. The walker jawed at him, trying to scramble to its feet to attack Bill instead. Before the walker could get up, Bill beat him with the bat, decayed blood spraying him in the face. He hit the body over and over, until there was absolutely no chance it would move again. He pulled his wife to her feet.

“Frannie,” Bill said, starting to argue again.

“No,” She said simply, and the look in her eyes gave Bill pause. She knew what she was doing. If she was going to die, she was going to die with him, and Bill saw that in her eyes, in the firm set of her jaw. With a shaky breath, he nodded. He readjusted his grip on his bat and Frannie clutched her knife tighter as they waited for the walkers to overtake them.

The growling was all Bill could hear, gnashing teeth were all he could see. He did his best to stay close to Frannie, afraid of what it would mean when he stopped feeling her presence at his back.

Frannie stabbed, he bashed, and together they were soon soaked in blood and guts. Bill could’ve fought for hours, he could’ve fought for a few seconds, he had no way of knowing. The one thing Bill knew was the inevitability of losing. It was a comfort of sorts, knowing that it was going to end. No matter how many walkers he-

_Bang! Bang! Bang!_

Gunfire opened up around them. Bill dropped to the floor, ignoring the walkers around him. Bright lights flashed in his periphery. He was relieved to see Frannie drop to the ground next to him, though the panic in her eyes did nothing to comfort him.

As quickly as it began, the gunfire stopped. Bill lifted his head slowly, a wave of reassurance crashing over him when he didn’t see any moving walkers, only still bodies. He got to his knees tentatively, reminded of the danger he was still in. He didn’t know who had killed all the walkers, and there was no guarantee that whoever it was was a friend.

“Stay down,” He whispered to Frannie before he rose completely.

“Show me your hands,” Said a voice from the other end of the aisle. “Don’t make any sudden movements, please.” Bill complied. He looked down at Frannie and tried in vain to exude a sense of calm. The figure ahead of him grew larger as he came closer, though Bill still couldn’t quite see him. He knew that that meant the other man couldn’t see him, which was a small comfort.

“Is it just the two of you?” The man asked. Bill didn’t answer.

“Yes,” Frannie said for him, voice shaking.

“Okay,” Said the man. “Just, stay there for a second. And, uh, you can get up, ma’am.” The man said, and Frannie slowly stood, raising her hands above her head. The man was closer, and Bill thought he could almost see him. He didn’t know who it was but, there was something familiar…

“Hey,” Said a stranger’s voice. “What were the shots about?”

“Roamers.”

“Damn,” The second man whistled, coming closer to the first.

“Muck,” The first man addressed the other, then he said something that Bill couldn’t hear. He spoke to Bill and Frannie next. “My friend is going to search the two of you and take your weapons, okay? We can talk after that. There’s no reason for this to go badly.”

Bill remained silent as the other man, Muck, came over to the two of them. Bill stood there obediently as he was patted down and his bat was taken. Watching Frannie get patted down was much more difficult. She wasn’t visibly upset, but the trembling in her lip was enough to make Bill feel sick.

“Okay,” Said the first man, taking a few steps forward, allowing Bill to clearly make out his face. “Now we’ll just-”

“Holy shit,” Bill interrupted him, dropping his hands. “Winters?”

There he was, right in front of him. Major Winters. Or, former Major, really, with the way things were now. Bill hadn’t seen Winters since his last deployment, yet here he was. He looked different. His body was more gaunt, his traditionally prim appearance was disheveled, but there was no mistaking that face, or that _voice_. Bill kicked himself for not recognizing him earlier.

“Guarnere?” Winters asked incredulously, taking a step forward and letting his gun swing around to hang at his waist. Winters’ mouth was agape, his eyes looked like he’d seen a ghost.

“You know him?” The guy, Muck, asked.

“Yeah,” Winter said, still in awe of the situation. “We served together overseas. God, I-” Winters started to say something that Bill guessed was going to be some righteous self deprecation. Bill cut him off instead, bringing Winters into a brisk hug. They separated and Bill took a long look at his former Major.

"It's good to see you, Guarnere," Winters said. "I'm glad you're alive."

"Yeah," Guarnere agreed. "You, too." Winters seemed to consider something before he turned to Frannie.

“You must be Frances,” Winters said.

“I go by Frannie,” She said softly. Now that he knew they were safe, Bill didn’t hesitate to bring his arm around his wife’s shoulders, acting as a support for her as best he could.

“Frannie. It’s a pleasure to meet you,” Winters said, gently shaking Frannie’s hand. He examined the two of them once more, seemingly making up his mind. “Look, we have a community, just a twenty minute drive from here. We have people, food. Weapons. You two are more than welcome to come back with us.” Bill thought that sounded amazing, but he looked at Frannie for her assent.

“We can’t keep running, Bill,” She said, and Bill knew she was right. He turned back to Winters and nodded a simple affirmation.

“I’d appreciate that, sir,” Bill said.

“It’s the end of the world, Bill,” Winters said with a smile. “Dick is fine.”

Muck handed Bill and Frannie their weapons again and the four of them scoured the store. Winters and Muck had gone to the store in search of canned goods and nonperishables to feed the community, as well as any technology they could get their hands on. Bill and Frannie were an asset, then, doubling the amount they could carry. Bill did his best to carry part of his wife's load, knowing she was still shaken by the entire ordeal. Bill, though, couldn't have felt more relieved, overall. He trusted Winters with his life, whether they were overseas or in the apocalypse. The fact that Winters had established a community took a great weight off Bill's shoulders.

It wasn't long before the four of them had gathered all they could bear and were ready to leave. They were almost at the exit of the store when Frannie jumped a little bit.

“Oh!” She exclaimed. “I forgot something, one second.” Before any of them could say a word, she was gone, sprinting off into one of the nearby aisles. They didn’t have to wait long before she came back, holding a small bottle.

“What’s that?” Muck asked, and Frannie simply held out the bottle so he could read it. “Prenatal vitami- Oh. _Oh._”

“Well,” Winters said, giving Bill and Frannie a small smile. “I guess it’s a good thing our community also has a doctor.”

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, everyone's support and comments really, really motivated me to write this. I loved it so much, so thank you all. This is (probably) going to be the only Bill/Frannie centric fic, but I really wanted to include it. As always, comments are greatly appreciated!
> 
> Thank you for reading!!


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